Do you love all sorts of food? Do you possess an insatiable appetite for sweets? How about the flavors of ethnic food? Have you ever wondered how to cook these sorts of meals in your own home? You don’t have to just wonder anymore! Use the following tips as a helpful guide to preparing great tasting meals.
Will you be making a meal using fresh basil? Take a large bunch of this fresh herb and place it in a glass. Pour enough water in to cover up the stems. This will allow it to stay fresh for weeks! The basil can actually grow roots if you keep the water changed occasionally. To encourage growth, you can trim some of the leaves to use in your cooking.
To quickly cut herbs, bind herbs together and snip with scissors. This will keep the herbs drier and lighter than chopped with a knife.
Make sure you thoroughly clean your utensils before starting to cook. If your utensils are not completely clean, you run the risk of introducing old food residue into whatever you are cooking. Beyond that, dirty utensils allow bacteria to grow which could make you ill.
Use a few spices to flavor your cooked meals. Explore different possibilities. Try salt, pepper, cayenne, or garlic powder. When it comes to spices, people have different tastes. Don’t add them while cooking; offer spices after you’ve made the meal so everyone can customize the taste for themselves. This way, everyone can season his meal to taste.
You can reduce your stress level by doing your prep work for an important meal the day or night before the event. Start by getting all of your ingredients in one place to make sure you have whatever you need. Have all ingredients chopped and measured. This way, you won’t have to do the tedious tasks when you are ready to cook.
The best utensils are made of rubber, silicone or nylon. These should always be used with nonstick pans. Utensils of metal or wood can scratch the coating, reducing its effectiveness and adding potentially dangerous particles to your food. Not only is this nasty, but this could also be potentially harmful.
Boiling vegetables is a cooking process that decreases valuable nutrients in them. Opt for quicker cooking methods instead. You can steam or saute your vegetables or eat them raw.
Always drain excess fat off soups and stews before eating. If your soup has too much fat cool it down and the fat will rise to the top. If you donât want to wait for your soup broth or stew to cool to remove some of the excess fat, you can put a piece of ice on a slotted spoon and skim the spoon across the top. The cooled fat will adhere to the spoon and ice cube. The ice will cause the fat to collect on it. Rather blot the fat with a paper towel.
Wooden skewers should be soaked in plain water before each use for an absolute minimum of thirty minutes. This will help to prevent burning when they are cooking. Also, use two skewers through your food to help secure it, so it doesn’t end up on the ground.
Not all potatoes are the same, and if you substitute one type of potato for another, your dish may not come out like you expected. There are some potatoes that are waxy and recommended for making boiled potatoes and potato salad but are not recommended for mashed potatoes, french fries or baked potatoes. Russet potatoes are more suited to those applications because of their fluffy texture.
If you apply the tips you have just read, you will be able to cook much better meals. Use your creativity to try out new and unique spices and flavors. You may even discover a new favorite meal. Follow your tips and experiment with new things to become a better chef.